Apparatus for rewinding yarn from broken or damaged cops



(NOMOdGL) 6 r R. L. CARR.

APPARATUS FOR REWINDING YARN FROM BROKEN" 0R DAMAGED U'OPS. No. 276,668. Patented May 1,1883.

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to complete description of my 30 gree and resultant of a lesser 5o proportion of UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT L. QARR, on EALLIRIVER, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR REWI NDING YARN. FROM BROKEN R DAMAGED COPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,668, dated May 1, 1883.

' Application filed March 7, 1881. (No model.)

and useful ApparatusforRewindingYarn from Broken or Damaged Cops; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnishedand true, and invention.

. My invention relates to means for the utilization of broken or imperfect mulecops, which have always heretofore been considered waste, because the yarn could not be properly deforming a part. thereof, is a clear,

:5 livered therefrom during the flight of. the

shuttle in weaving. Frequently acop is ren dered of littlevalue by careless handling while removing it from the mule-spindle, andwhen only partiallydamaged or broken some por- 2a tionsofit are sometimes used in weaving or spooling, the remainder being thrown aside as waste, usually in a tangled mass. .In spooling off mule-cops of warp-yarns the yarn. is usually drawn from the cops whilethe lat:

2 ter are firmly mounted on fixed spindles, and

as thedeliveryof yarn from the cops in such case is substantially like the delivery from a cop in a shuttle, the same dificulty is encouutered as in weaving, although toa lesserQdeproportion of cop-waste than is attendant upon weaving. The loss of time by the weaver and. his looms incident to bad cops in the shuttle, and the faulty cloth liable to result therefrom, are

strongly conducive to the rejection by the weaver of all but apparently perfectcops. The shrinkage in yarn apparentfrom a comparison of the gross product of a mule-room with the net consumption thereof, as evidenced by the 0 woven product, is well known to be a serious item of loss in all mills, and the portion of said shrinkage treatedas merchantable waste is well known to be far below the actual quantity to be accounted for after deducting the 5 yarn actually worked in the looms. The wellknown disposition on the part of weavers and spoolers to conceal the results of their careless handling of copsleads to the wrongful con-.

cealmentand practical destruction of a good the broken or damaged cops rather than expose themselves to possible cenfrom one-eighth upward.

sure. So far as my knowledge extends, this mule-cop waste basheretofore been almost wholly utilized as wiping waste for cleaningwmaohinery, and subsequently thereto as paper-stock. It has, however, been proposed to mechanically restore the fiber of such waste to a separated condition, from which it may .be respun; but, so far as my knowledge extends, the fiber is thereby so out and torn as to render yarn made in whole or in part therefrom of comparatively little value.

The value of cop-waste? as a merchantable article for wiping purposes does not beara fixed proportion to the original value of the yarn therein, butit ranges only in accordance with the varying value of the original fiberas, for instance, print-cloth cop-waste would bevalued per pound at about onequarter of the value of the yarn, (whatever the value of the cotton might be,) while cop-waste of more expensive yarns from mills producing finer goods the proportion of value would range is to utilize such cop-waste for the purposes for which the yarn wasoriginally intended without-in any appreciable manner detracting from its value by injuryto the fiber, andto reduce the proportion of waste hitherto wrongfully diverted and absolutelylost tothe manufacturer.

. The object of myinvention .I t has heretofore been proposed to rewind imperfect cops by the use of apparatus illustrated in English Letters Patent No. 2,9? of A. D. 1863, embodying winding mechanism, incombination with unwinding-spindles having rigid footandhead bearings, but I have found that the unwinding of imperfect cops cannot be practically accomplished unless theuuwindingspindle becapable of yielding under the tension of the yarn, in order that the spindle may, by assuming.slightly-varying angles with re lation to the line of yarn as it is drawn from the cop, enable the yarn to free itself from the mats or snarls common to broken or imperfect cops; and my invention consists mainly inthe combination, with winding mechanism, of,annnwinding-spindle which is capable of .being bodily moved or deflected by the .tension of the. cop-yarn during the unwinding of the same from said spindle. This capacity in the, spindle may be provided for in various too spool-room, under which each weaver and. spooler-tender. is provided with a box, into.

which all imperfect cops and parts of cops are to be carefully deposited from. time to time, as they come to hand in the process .of weaving or spooling, instead of permitting such cops to be further broken and torn into a tangled mass, as is now the universal practice.

Although spindles backwardly rotated by the draft of the yarn are preferable for obtaining the best results, provided said spindles be capable of moving bodily at one or both ends, as before stated, the wellknown copwarp spooler hereinbet'ore referred to may be made fairly serviceable for my purposes, if it be moditied and changed in construction as follows: By making the spindles light and rotative instead of fixed, or, if fixed, reducing the diameter of such spindles to such an extent as to render them flexible, and also pcrmitabroken cop to rotate freely thereon, and in either case providing for sufiicient free bodily movement of the upper ends of the spindles to allow for a change in position while the yarn is unwinding from a break or snarl, and arranging for the draft on the yarn in a line nearly or pruc tically at right angles to the axes of the broken cop, instead of, as now in such machines, drawing off the yarn in a line practically parallel or coincident with said axis. I hereinafter describe, and illustrate in the drawings, various types of mechanism whereby the prime objects of my invention may be obtained. Broadly stated, such mechanism must involve suitable winding 1nechanism,in combination with alight unwindingspindle which is susceptible of axially entering or piercing a broken cop,is either capable of rotation with the cop or freely permitting the latter to rotate thereon underthe unwinding tension of the yarn, and is also movable bodily at one or both ends under the tension of the yarn in unwinding, so that when the delivery thereof is obstructed by a mat or snarl in the cop the spindle can slightly change its position with relation to the line of draft on the yarn leading therefrom, thus enabling the latter to free itself in unwinding. While it is preferable that the unwinding-spindle shall occupy a truly central position in the cop, the yarn .may be, nevertheless, withdrawn from such badly-broken cops as are not truly concentric with the spindle. The character of the winding mechanism should of course beadapted to the use to which the recovered yarn is to be applied. If to be used as a spoolless cop within a shuttle, the winding mechanism would involve a spindle like that of a mule, and a traverse motion, which, as in a mule, will properly lay the yarn and build up the cop. If the recovered yarn 'nexed.

the yarn.

is to be used as warps, the usual spool and traverse motion will serve the purpose; or the yarn may be unwound from the broken cop directly upon aswift or reel to be rewound therefrom or removed in hanks. If the recovered yarn is to be used as a spooled cop for shuttles, it may be wound as in the well-known quilter, or upon a spindle like that of a mule.

The several features of my invention will be specified in detail in the claims hereunto an- Referring to the drawings, Figure l represents in vertical lateral section so much of a machine as will illustrate my invention when the recovered yarn is to be placed on spools or quills for use in shuttles. Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the spooling of the recovered yarn, as for warps. Fig. 3 is a similar view illustrating the reeling of the recovered yarn. Fig. 4 is a similar view illustrating the copping of the recovered yarn into the same form originally occupied by it upon the mule-spindle. Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating the reeling of the recovered yarn from a broken cop mounted upon an unwinding spindle, which is free to rise and fall with the varying tension on the yarn incident to thevarying freedom of delivery from a broken cop. Fig. 6 is aplan view of a yielding top bearing for the unwinding-spindle.

In connection with all of these figures it is to be understood that the mechanism for winding therein shown contains no novel features, and that I shall deem it only necessary to describe the same so far as will show' their mode of operation with the unwinding-spindles when combined therewith in accordance with myinvention. On each of the organizations shown the unwinding-spindle A, as constructed and applied, is a novel element. The upper portion of a mule-spindle may be readily converted into one suited for this purpose. The rotating spindle is provided with a step, a, and yielding head-bearing b, as indicated in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, in which case-the spindle and broken cop c are rotated together in unwinding; or the spindle may be fixedly mounted, as in Fig. 2, in which case it is made still smaller in diameter, so as to permit the broken cop c to rotate freely thereon in unwinding. This form of spindle should, be very light, so as to be flexible under tension of the yarn, and it not it should be flexiblymounted at its base and provided with afyielding top support to admit of the desirable bodily movement of the upper end of the spindle; or the spindle may be ar ranged, as in Fig. 5, so that the broken cop may freely revolve on the spindle, or the cop and spindle revolve together, as the varying condition of the broken cop may require for the proper delivery of the yarn in unwinding. In this case the two ends of the spindle are free and occupy slots din a pair of parallel inclined standards, 0, which permit the spindle to rise or fall under the varying tension of The inclined slot, when the spindle is lifted, is conducive to the rotation of the IIO spindle, and thus aids in the free delivery of p the unwinding-spindle be slightly yielding,

and this can be provided for in various ways,

as illustrated, for instance, in Fig. 6, thelight spring h having an abutment or bearing, h,

at its free end, with which the upperend of the spindle engages whenever the tension on the yarn in working free from a snarl or break is sufficient to require this yielding effeet. The yielding head-bearing I) used with the rotary spindle may be made of spring metal, so as to enable their outer ends to be lifted for the insertion of the top of the unwinding-spindle; or said head-bearing may be made heavy, and hinged, as indicated in Fig. 6, so as to be held down at its outer end by its own weight.

Iam aware that it is common in bobbinwinding machines to pivotally mount the copreceiving spindles to a rail, so that they may be turned down for receiving a cop, and then turned upward, so that the yarn may be drawn off over the end of the copwithout rotation, as illustrated in the United States Patent N 0. 6,435, May 8, 1849.

Although good results may be attained with rotating metallic spindles for receiving the broken oops, I generally prefer that they be composed of light hard wood. Such wooden spindles may be used with a bone or ivory step. For rendering the wooden spindles more durable theymay be provided with light metallio tips.

Referring now' to Fig. 1, it will be understood that the windi-ng-spindleB is of the type employed in quillers, but driven at a slower speed than heretofore, and that as the yarn is laid upon the bobbin i the latter rises, as indicated in dotted lines, until the foot of the spindle is lifted from its driver 7c. These spindles havebeen heretofore used in combination with reels or swiftslocated below the spindle, and upon which yarn in hanks has been placed.

In Fig. 2 the winding-spindle E is as heretoforeused for driving spools; but it should be driven at comparatively slow speed, because the broken cop c in this case rotates wholly independent of the unwinding-spindle.

In Fig. 3 the reel 0 is of the ordinary type, but should be driven much slower than is usual in reeling, because the delivery of yarn from the broken cop c is of necessity a much slower operation than when reeling from well-laid bobbins. t

In Fig. 4 the winding-spindle D is of the usual type used in mules, but it is of course driven at such slow speed as will best take off the yarn from the broken cop c, and therewith is used a traverse or copping motion similar to that used in mules, except that it is continuous in its reciprocatory operation instead of intermittent.

In Fig. 5 thereel F is of the simplest type, and with this, as well as that shown in Fig. 3, a lateral traverse motion may or may not be used.

When a long slender rotating unwindingspindle is employed I sometimes furnish it As regards thestationary unwinding-spindie A in Fig. 2, it will be understood that I prefer to employ at all times a spindle which can rotate; and I am well aware that if my unwinding-spindles be applied to machines for spooling mule-cop warps the quantity of warp-cop waste will be greatly reduced as compared with the quantity resulting from the practice. of the present common methods. I do not maintain that the yarn of cop-waste can be wholly devoted to its original purposes by the practice of my invention; but it" properly worked not more than ten or fifteen per cent. of the waste heretofore resultingneed be sold as wiping-waste, and the cost of recovery under my invention of the remainder will seldom, if ever, exceed fifteen per cent. of its value.

Having thus described my invention, I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Thecombinatiomwith yarn-windingmechanism, of an unwindingspindle which is capable of bodily movement under the tension of yarn from a cop carried by said spindle, substantially as described, whereby in unwinding a broken or imperfect cop said spindle may 2. Theoombinatiomwithyarn-windingmechanism, of an unwinding spindle rotatively mounted, and a yielding head-bearing for said spindle which permits the latter to be deflected under the tension of yarn drawn from a cop mounted on said spindle, substantially as described.

RQBERT L. CARR. 

